Sports Rush: Showcasing for Scouts

Kevin Thompson, Jr. found himself a long way from home this week. He comes from Baltimore and played defensive end at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Florida. Thompson, Jr. traveled to Fort Worth this past week to participate in the College Gridiron Showcase. Held annually in North Texas, the event offers draft-eligible former college football players like him a chance to impress scouts sent by professional teams to evaluate them. Through a series of interviews, practices, and a scrimmage, they try to do enough to get themselves drafted or signed as free agents this April. In the video interview that is the centerpiece of this post, Thompson, Jr. explains what he wanted to accomplish at the CGS and why.

In the interview, he references his struggles and his desire to succeed to help his mom. Thompson, Jr. faces long odds to make the NFL, as most college players do. But he’s beaten the odds to even make it this far. He grew up in a rough neighborhood and his three brothers all died violently. A serious injury cost him most of a season at Bethune-Cookman. He’s potentially a little undersized for a DE and didn’t play at a Power Five football factory, but he’s competitive and plays with sustained energy on every play. He hopes his showing at the CGS, who held their on-field activities at All Saints Episcopal School, will get an NFL or CFL franchise excited enough about him to offer chance to make the team. It would be a rewarding end to his long journey.

Rush Olson has spent two decades directing creative efforts for sports teams and broadcasters. When not writing his Sports Rush blog for the Weekly, he creates television programs, ad campaigns, content marketing, and related creative projects for sports entities and more through Rush Olson Creative & Sports and FourNine Productions.

Since 1994, Fort Worth Weekly has provided a vibrant alternative to North Texas’ often-timid mainstream media outlets by offering incisive, irreverent reportage that keeps readers well informed and the powers-that-be worried.